Comments

Given the fact that some 80 percent of the German army deaths occurred on the Eastern Front during WW2, thus saving the lives of untold numbers of soldiers from the West, you would think there would be some recognition of this by Western leaders. Not to recognize the contribution of the Soviet Union in the defeat of Hitler brings shame on the West and its leaders. Read more

I often wonder, how you can se the world from only one angel, and that is the hate to a country and of people. Putin is no better or worse than any other leading figure in the world. On thing is for sure he is loved by the Russian people. Maybe is it that which makes you so annoyed and frustrated. But on the other hand, if one makes more money to criticizing the Russian people, and particular their leader, than you can go on and write. But it will be less and less people who will be interested in you articles in the future. Read more

Sad that such a great nation can be systematically duped by its corrupt political leaders. On a visit to Novosibirsk I was surprised at how many idolize Stalin and concur in the absurd anti-US posturing of Moscow. The ultimate mistake of Putin and his oligarch Siloviki is the rush to embrace China. Chinese despise Russians, and will eventually take over most of Siberia, which has all the resources 1.3 billion Chinese will require in this century. Russia's declining population, the depopulation of Siberia, and China's historic claim to that region set the stage for major confrontation by 2050. Putin should have joined NATO and the West to ensure Russia's survival. He is leading his country down the garden path to oblivion economically, politically, and demographically. And apparently Russians don't mind. Read more

"Putin views himself as a new czar."The controversial thesis.I often see in US articles with equivalent statements but do not see in real life confirmation it.Where undemocratic facts?!I recently watched "Direct Line" with Vladimir Putin and saw the Democratic president.Perhaps more democratic than Barack Obama, François Hollande, or David Cameron.We vote in the elections, we see what we chosen.Now, the democratic process in Russia, more honest, transparent and clear than in the West democratic process:Comparing Putins and Camerons public apearances:http://acidcow.com/pics/69712-david-cameron-had-a-huge-turnout-at-his-election.htmlRead more

The author is well aware that the parade is a tribute to the memory and signal Aggressive NATO, which captures the Russian land, and wants to replicate Hitler cast to Moscow through Ukraine. NATO should not have bombed Yugoslavia, did not have to seize the Baltic States, was not to be placed in Poland and Romania, but these errors are not corrected. Enemy at the Gates of Russia and is ready to attack at any convenient moment for him, as it did in Ukraine, turning it into a neo-Nazi totalitarian state. Read more

"the leaders of China, India, and North Korea, underscoring just how few friends Russia has these days." - is it some kind of elaborate joke I am not getting? China, India and "few" in the same sentence. Read more

Putin should be more worried over China. Not a lot of people in the Russian Far East to defend a vast resource rich area. China already economically dominates the border regions with Russia, only a matter of time until it becomes defacto Chinese territory...... Read more

The contribution of the former Soviet Union to the fight against Nazi Germany in WWII is whole orders of magnitude more than what is happening in Ukraine since 1990.

And although the following statement doesn't apply to you, Nina -- as it applies only to policymakers -- still I mention it as a general comment as to how we should be/should not be looking at Vlad Putin;

"For the West, the demonization of Vladimir Putin is not a policy; it is an alibi for the absence of one." -- http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/henry-kissinger-to-settle-the-ukraine-crisis-start-at-the-end/2014/03/05/46dad868-a496-11e3-8466-d34c451760b9_story.html

Russia celebrates Victory Day on May 9. This year's event marks the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany with a military parade in Moscow. On both occasions - in 1995 and in 2005 - Western leaders attended. Then, there was a sense of hope for a new relationship between the West and Russia.According to Nina Khrushcheva this year's celebration will only see a handful of "high-profile guests", mainly "the leaders of China, India, and North Korea". Yet a week ago Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Kim Jong-un would not attend the ceremony in Moscow, saying the North Korean leader had decided to stay at home due to "internal issues".Russia had sent dozens of invitations to foreign leaders to this commemorative event. But many have decided to stay away due to Russia's annexation of Crimea and actions in eastern Ukraine. Chinese and Greek leaders Xi Jinping and Alexis Tsipras are expected to attend. The Czech President Milos Zeman and Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico have said they will take part in the commemorations, but skip the parade. Viktor Orbán, Hungary's prime minister, is staying at home, and so is the country’s president . Aleksander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, a member of Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, isn’t going to turn up either. Islam Karimov, the president of Uzbekistan, and his Turkmen counterpart, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow are coming.Angela Merkel will not be there for May 9, but will travel to Moscow the following day. It shows how she had weighed up what decision to make. On the one hand she knows all too well the historical and present complex relationship between Berlin and Moscow. On the other she is also aware of Germany’s responsibility and culpability. She can't stay away, but doesn't want to attend the parade because of how Putin has manipulated it, making the Soviet Red Army as a liberator, instead of an oppressor. However she has found a compromise worthy of war veterans and the huge suffering of the people of the Soviet Union. She will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on May 10, together with Putin, to honour the memory of the millions who died during the Second World War.Nina Khrushcheva mentions Robert Paxton's 1966 book "Parades and Politics at Vichy", that tells how Philippe Pétain, Hitler's stooge in France under German occupation, "used pageantry, reactionary politics" to show the world that his regime mattered. Paxton, a historian specialising in Vichy France, fascism, and Europe during the World War II would see some parallels between Pétain's France and Putin's Russia - a police state.Pétain was lauded as France's saviour and Putin is hailed as a leader, who tries to restore Russia's former glory. Putin would no doubt agree with Pétain's puritanism, who replaced France's national motto of "liberté, égalité and fraternité" with "travail, familie, patrie" (work, family, fatherland). Pétain called for family values, forbade women to wear revealing clothing, abhorred divorce and demanded that women be mothers. Putin would also share these views.In 1940, a majority of politicians of the right and left agreed with the new French fascism. As Paxton said: "Never had so many Frenchmen been ready to accept discipline and authority." The same in Russia, Putin's foreign policies are widely supported by many Russians and they are ready to put up with hardships and bear the brunt of international sanctions. Read more

This is the THIRD article like this from you attacking anything and everything Putin. Like him or hate him, I have to question whether Project Syndicate is not perhaps 'monetized' through accommodation of articles from people supporting specific political causes. Get this sort of junk out and replace it something balanced. Read more

PS On Air: The Super Germ Threat

NOV 2, 2016

In the latest edition of PS On
Air
, Jim O’Neill discusses how to beat antimicrobial resistance, which
threatens millions of lives, with Gavekal Dragonomics’ Anatole Kaletsky
and Leonardo Maisano of
Il Sole 24 Ore.

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